Nintendo DS NintendoSpin.com / Previews / Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney

Posted on July 29th, 2005 - 3071 Reads

Rated Rating Pending Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Nintendo DS Preview

-- Written by Justin Joseph



 Now at first glance, this game might not seem entirely interesting. The main point of this game is to be a rookie defense lawyer and prove that your client is not guilty of the crime he or she is being charged for. But really, it should end up being a lot of fun simply because it makes you think and can really make you feel like you ARE one of those "lawyers" that people just love to hate! The game may essentially be driven by conversations with numerous NPCs, but that's part of the game that will make you think! Now obviously if you don't like thinking much in games, this probably isn't for you. But for those that would like yet another "different" type of game that should be enjoyable for critical thinkers, Ace Attorney may be for you!

In Ace Attorney, you will take control of Phoenix Wright, a young man who is the newest local defense attorney! You happen to do your job under the guidance of Mia Fei and her law firm. During your play, you will take careful look at all different kinds of evidence as well as examining the testimonies of the various NPCs that you interact with. Then looking for any kinds of contradictions between the evidence and their testimonies, you will be driven to catch these evildoers in their own lies! Let's just say you're Judge Judy, only REALLY dumbed down.

In the demonstration that IGN had the honor of going through the game began with your learning of a woman that was killed. Now unlike most tv shows or movies that contain a murder mystery, this game actually shows you a small cutscene that actually REVEALS the real thug behind the vicious act! In the case of the demo, it was a shadowy looking man that goes by the name Mr. Sahwit. You are then introduced to Phoenix Wright who you discover has chosen to undertake the defense of his friend Larry Butz! So if you haven't guessed it yet, you should realize that you actually KNOW who the real criminal is, you simply have to gather the evidence to prove that he or she is the guilty party!

As for how the game actually works with the DS. The top screen of the system will display the actual conversations you have with the various NPCs in the game. But how the conversations actually work between you and the witness in the courtroom is actually unique! Instead of their just being allowed to say everything they would want to at once not giving you a chance to respond to anything, it all appears in "chunks." With each chunk, you are given the option of either "pressing" the particular witness or presenting contradictory evidence.

To help you guys better understand this, I will use IGN's example to clarify just how this actually works. Just for the sake of the example, we'll say the testimony is being delivered by a man named John Smith.

Mr. Smith: "The top screen of the DS is reserved for conversations and characters...Continue?"

That one statement right there would be considered a certain "chunk" of his testimony, and at the "continue?" prompt, you have the option of presenting contradictory evidence or pressing him. If you have nothing to present against a certain chunk, then you simply allow the testimony to continue. So let's say you actually see something suspicious about that particular chunk of testimony.

Instead of having to let the testimony continue, you can use the bottom touch screen and stylus to navigate through a series of menus. In these menus, you can view character profiles and any kind of evidence you may have collected so far! In the actual profile section of this menu, you can view just about everything there is to know about the person you are hearing the testimony from.

So for instance, let's say the profile sheet for Mr. Smith states "John Smith has never seen a DS in his entire life." Bingo! You would then know there's something wrong with his testimony! The best thing for you to do would be to press him with that information in order to try to make him cough up the truth behind his statement. However, if nothing of true importance surfaces in the witness' profile, it's then best to check out your evidence stash to see if there's anything in there that could help you out!

In the demo provided to IGN, evidence was automatically provided to them. However in the final version, you will have the option of actually acting out your own little "CSI" if you wish to do so! CSI stands for Crime Scene Investigation by the way. So you will indeed be able to investigate crime scenes on your own in order to collect the evidence you may need to help your client!

Evidence may also either be related or unrelated to current case testimonies that you are examining, or any future testimonials really. So therefore it is your vital job to search for specific evidence that would be able to directly contradict the testimony of the offender that you are trying to prove to be the wrongdoer. Then just like with what might happen in a real trial, if you press a witness or present evidence at an inappropriate time, you may get an earful from the court! You must be VERY careful of this because it could endanger your client's status with the judge, and any time you lose a case, it's Game Over for you!

But what is actually cool about using the stylus to navigate through the menus is the fact that you can REALLY feel like you're a defense lawyer! In any kind of trial, lawyers are always sifting through papers that could be potential evidence for their cause, and that's virtually what you can do with this game! It's just as if you would be flipping through various notebooks and folders like a real lawyer might do during a trial!

So when it all comes down, Ace Attorney is a game that will make you think and act quickly on your toes. You will need the evidence to defend your innocent client and you will need to be steadfast in serving the justice that the true offender deserves! At the beginning your work may not be entirely difficult, but as you continue succeeding, the cases will become increasingly complex in logic. The evidence will be much harder to find and the lies will be much tougher to detect. To make things even more interesting, you won't be the only one objecting to the case and/or testimony. Even the prosecution will get involved trying to prove that you're the one that is incorrect and try to sway the judge to their side! You will always have to be alert, or you could find yourself in a position that will cause you to look like a fool infront of your peers!

So for those of you out there that want an upcoming DS game that will make you think, Ace Attorney just may be for you! When you will have the opportunity to fire this game up remains to be seen, but hopefully Capcom will reveal a concrete release date soon!

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